Funsized Hero
by Kaicess
Summary: Steve has been in the new world for six months and still does not feel at ease. Can a new recruit help him adjust? Or will she just make him feel more alone? Set after the avengers movie, AU-ish.
1. Chapter 1

To ensure that she was indeed the girl S.H.I.E.D. had been searching for, Coulson had been tracking this girl for two weeks, and still he was perplexed my so many things she did. He didn't understand how even though she lived on the streets and could only usually get a piece of bread a day, she still tore it in half and gave it to whoever she deemed more 'needy' than she. He didn't understand how her feet didn't bleed from her constant walking, never staying in the same city for more than two cities. Mostly he didn't understand how she was so jumpy and frightened so easily, considering the incredible power she possessed. She seemed to rarely seek the comfort of others, particularly that of the opposite sex. He'd witnessed her get hit on several times, to her obvious displeasure.

"Fury, I'm going to approach her now. Keep the team occupied for as long as you can." He flipped his phone closed, not even waiting to hear the snarky reply his superior must have let slip from his lips. He walked quickly across the street ignoring the blaring horns, and curses that followed him. The girl had just slipped into an alley, possibly trying to escape the noise herself. He trailed, groaning as she increased her pace, wishing his dress shoes were more comfortable. As he neared he realized, he wasn't the only one hot on her heels, and that a group of men were very close to her.

"Well, boys, look what we have here, a little runaway." One of the men spoke up causing Coulson's heart to start thumping so hard he feared it may echo down the alley. The men snickered, closing in on her like she was their prey. "I don't want any trouble" the girl's voice was uneven and quiet, and her eyes stayed glued to the ground. The once who spoke pushed her against the wall, using a hand to force her to look at him "Oh honey, trouble isn't what we want." His hand made its way to rub her in places he shouldn't and she began begging. "Please, stop, I'll just leave now, no cops or anythi-"her words were cut off by a slap.

Coulson, pulled out his gun, and approached the group. Before he could do anything however, the man was flung into the wall. The girl pressed against the wall, blood dripping from her lip, and guilt showing in her eyes. The men began to advance, but before they could get close, the cocking of a gun stole their attention. "You think you're big, tough guys picking on a woman? You are going to grab your dirt bag of a friend and leave this nice girl alone. Maybe I won't kill you." Coulson said his aim moving from one man to the other. "She isn't worth anything, never mind getting killed. We're outta here." One said, his brown beady eyes growing in size at the sight of Coulson's gun.

After they took off, their unconscious friend in their arms, Coulson approached the girl pulling a handkerchief from his jacket pocket. "Here" he offered it to her, peering at the small girl over his sunglasses. She offered him a bloody, but grateful smile and began wiping the evidence of her attack from her dirty face. Her eyes returned to their place on the ground, and he went to knell in front of her. "I'm here to offer you something. How would you like to not have to hide who you really are?"


	2. Chapter 2

The small girl, Carmen, turned out to be harder to convince than Coulson expected. At first, she appeared timid, but once he began to talk about why he was there, she gathered some confidence. She stared at him, even after he stopped talking, possibly going over the offer in her head. "A team huh?" She finally said with a little venom seeping its way into her voice "Well that's just great. A team of freaks." Coulson sighed, rubbing his eyes before saying something he'd regret later "No you're the only mutant bu-" She cut him off "Oh, so I'm some kind of way to show the government wants to play nice with my kind now? 'LOOK! We're letting one of the freaks play with these humans!' I appreciate your help back there, but, I'm not falling for this." She was panting once she finished her little rant. "If you'd let me explain, you'd realize it's not what you're trying to make it out to be. I've been following you a while, I know you're the type to want to help others. Let me buy you some dinner, and we'll go _through_ this all again, Ok?"

A while later, after Coulson had re-stated his offer, they sat in a rundown little bar, a untouched burger in front of Carmen and a half eaten one on Coulson's plate. "You need to eat" he began, the girl simply staring at the food, as if she was waiting for it to move or something "You haven't been getting enough nutrients." She shrugged her shoulders, lifting her eyes to meet his. "If try it, prove it's safe, will you eat?" he asked, and after a moment she gave a small nod. Her amber eyes watched as he used a knife and fork to cut a piece of the burger, and chewed and swallowed it. He stared at her expectantly and she finally began eating. They sat in silence the only noise coming from their cups being set down, and the old jukebox in the corner of the room. As soon as their plates became visibly empty, the waitress came over. Her face was so made up she had a striking resemblance to a clown, and her voice was gravely as she told them "Have a good night." Once Coulson had left the appropriate amount of money on the table, the pair left the bar. "I'm in."

After an incredibly long and almost silent, aside from the calls Coulson made or received every so often, they finally arrived at the SHIELD facility. It was lit up, which was odd considering how late it was. Coulson led the way, and Carmen followed, looking in awe at the odd building. "Agent, you're needed in the conference room" a young girl sitting at a desk in the entrance of the building said, offering him an apologetic smile. He cursed under his breath, and called over one of the men that were standing in the room. "Agent, escort her to the residential area, point out anything you deem important on the way. She is the one we set up the room for." The man nodded and then turned to Carmen, putting a smile on before saying, "Follow me miss." She did follow, but stayed far back enough to be able observe him. He pointed out the kitchen, the cafeteria they had, and finally her room. "There should be some clothes in the closet, and there's a small bathroom, and even smaller shower in there, but it still has hot water." He said, trying to get a response out of the girl. She merely nodded, looking around the room suspiciously. "You know what? I do not think they gave you soap or anything. I'll go grab some, just stay here ok?" he took off down the hall before he could get a response. 'What else would I do?' she thought, irritated by how he talked to her.

He came back, a fluffy towel over his shoulder and a couple bottled toiletries in his hands. "Here you go" He handed it to her "You're all set. In the morning, me or another agent will come get you for breakfast. "She thanked him, and he just waved it off before he left the room. 'Might as well make use of that shower' she thought, not really knowing when the last time she had bathed properly was. Baby wipes had been her way of keeping 'clean' for a while now. The bathroom was small, but smelled and looked clean, just like the rest of the building. She grabbed some clothes from the closet, blushing slightly as she realized they had even gone so far as to get undergarments for her. After stripping away her filthy clothes, she stepped into the shower, and for a few minutes just enjoyed the hot water, a luxury she was not used to. A content sigh passed her lips, and soon she was lathering up her body. 'I'll figure out an escape plan tomorrow' she thought 'A night of sleep will make it easier'. Once all of the cleaning products were rinsed from here body she stepped out of the shower wrapping the huge fluffy white towel around her. She hurriedly pulled on her clothes and then just crashed on the bed, falling asleep within a few minutes, not bothering to get under the covers.

She woke just as light was beginning to pour through the blinds of the window. She stretched, and noticed how much better body felt after using an actual bed. She finally stood when a knock at her door forced her to. She hesitantly approached the door, trying to figure out who it was without asking, but just decided to open the door. "Ms. Ortega, you have quite a bit of paper work to fill out. If you will come wit-, "Coulson was interrupted by a loud bang down the hallway. He turned his attention down the hall, grumbling something about 'getting too old for this shit'. "My apologies" a booming voice came from down the hall "That was not my intention." Coulson simply shook his head and then instructed Carmen to follow him. She did, trying to not let her nerves take over. She took a quick glance down the hall; saw a large blonde man looking over a huge hole in the wall. After noticing she stopped, Coulson cleared his throat to stop himself from chuckling at her alarmed expression.

After many dull hours of Carmen filling out paper and the agent doing work on his computer, his office door opened up. "Ah, Ms. Lewis, I see you got my message." The wrinkles around his eyes showed as he gave what seemed to be a legit smile. "Yup, where's the new dude at?" the intruder, a curvy and somewhat short woman asked, pushing her thick-rimmed glasses up after the words tumbled from her mouth. "_SHE_ is the new recruit, Lewis. This is Agent Ortega. Lewis will be assisting you today." He said, his tone only making the poor girl even redder. "Oh so the brand new person is an agent and I'm still an intern? Awesome!" the girl exclaimed recovering from her embarrassment quickly. "Show her to the A building, and once she's done take her with you to get food. I'm counting on you Lewis, don't make me regret it." He said before shooing us out.

The pair did not speak as they walked, the only noise coming from Lewis's heels clicking on the floor. Carmen could feel the intern's eyes on her and shifted uncomfortably before asking "Something I can help you with? Or should I just allow you to continue staring at me?" Lewis let a chuckle out before replying, "Just wondering what makes you special. You know to get on the team, you have to be sort of badass. No offense but you look a little too….young." It was Carmen's time to laugh. "Typical human view point. Always assuming appearances are the only way to judge one's strength" She stated sending a rather venomous glare in the other woman's direction. Lewis stared at her before hurriedly saying "Never mind what I said, you're more scary than all of them combined. Well, Ms. Badass Ortega, I'm Darcy." Carmen just said her name, not really knowing what to do after, and Darcy nodded to acknowledge it.

Once they arrived at the A building, Carmen's heart began racing. Her eyes darted all along the high-tech area, watching the personnel carefully. "Hey look, no one likes going to the doctors, but you're just getting some tests done." Darcy said trying to calm the new recruit, who shot out of her seat at the word tests, "That's what this about? I knew it! Just stay away, let me leave and you won't get killed." Darcy protested immediately, catching Carmen by the arm as she moved to get out. "It's nothing bad! They do it to all SHIELD employees." The door opened loudly, an older man said, "I never thought I'd say this but, Miss Lewis is correct. There is no reason to be frightened, I can assure you." Carmen looked at the ground before nodding in an agreement to cooperate. "Now dear just lie back and we'll get the blood test out of the way."


	3. Chapter 3

A number of hours later, Carmen was still having tests done. Darcy had left only to answer her phone, saying she'd been texted by Coulson and told to stay. Carmen was shoved onto a machine she did not recognize and told to run on it, for as quickly as she could for as long as she could. She was also hooked up to a machine to measure her vitals. It had been 50 minutes and she was still going strong, to the surprise of everyone present. "For as malnourished as she is, she should have stopped ten minutes in" the doctor said, more to himself than to Lewis. "You should probably stop her before she pukes or something," Darcy said watching her heart rate beginning to escalate. Shaking his head violently, Dr. Green watched on, "Are you kidding? I want to see how long this freak can go!" Darcy's jaw dropped and as opened her mouth to protest that, he hopped on the microphone that was linked to the next room where Carmen was, telling her to keep going.

Carmen nodded, despite the fact that her lungs were begging her to stop. She kept up her pace, blissfully unaware of the huge argument occurring on the other side, as she tuned out everything aside from the task. A bolt of pain radiated from her leg, and she ignored it, the urge to prove her worth the only thing keeping her going. "You need to stop! She needs a break! I don't even know if she's eaten!" Darcy's voice was going up in pitch as she tried to reason with the man in the white lab coat. "Who Cares? I am securing even more proof that they are freaks! I'll be rich!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Lewis whipped out her phone. "What are you doing?" She ignored him, silently begging for the phone to be picked up. The doctor kept questioning her, much to her annoyance. "This better be good, Lewis." A gruff voice asserted on the other line. "Oh it is Commander. This doctor is-"Darcy began but the phone was thrown from her hands. The doctor stood in front of her, his chest rising and falling quickly, as he tried to keep his composure. "You have a hearing problem?" He screamed in her face. She quickly recovered from the shock and began to respond when suddenly his hand came flying at her.

Sometime during their fight, Carmen had slowed down, and was now clutching at her ribs instead of the arms of the machine. Finally, she gave in stepping off the machine, trying to fight the familiar sensation that began washing over her. She cursed under her breath, trying to rub the burning from her eyes, and the dull ache from her temples. Before she could make any progress, she heard the arguing finally. Once she'd heard something hit the floor, she began trying to get out of the sealed arm. After several attempts at pulling at the door proved useless, she knew a little more force was needed. The door flew off the hinges with a small shove from her. She did the same with the door separating her from Lewis and the Doctor. The sight of his hand raised at her was reason enough for Carmen to pounce. The familiar warmth radiated through her, and the sudden surge of energy made her stomach flip uneasily. Despite this, she restrained the man with little effort. She was on top of him, preventing him from escaping. "Get the hell of me! You might be contagious." Dr. Green still struggled beneath her. Instead she leaned down and whispered "If you ever raise your hand to another woman, I will find you, and I **will **rip out your intestines and strangle you with them. You should know better to challenge something you don't understand. Am I clear?"

She got off him, standing up shakily, finally noticing a number of agents had appeared in the time she'd been talking to the man. Coulson quickly stepped to the front of the group, demanding an explanation from Lewis. She struggled to find words for a few moments before Ortega came to her defense. "It was my fault sir. I came in and saw the man had tried to hit her, and reacted without thinking." The other agents were quickly dismissed, and the cursing doctor was taken with them, in hand cuffs. Asshole got what he deserved," Darcy finally recovered her shock. The agent nodded at her before returning his gaze to Ortega , who eyes hadn't moved. "Why don't you ladies," He gestured to both of them "go get some food before the meeting at 5." They both nodded, Darcy, for once opting to remain silent.

After an uneventful meal and a quick change of clothes on Carmen's end, they made their way to where the meeting was to be held. Lewis reached out and knocked on the metal door, before pulling it open anyways. Carmen's shaky hands rubbed against her now denim covered thighs before running over thick inky hair, which was pulled back with a hair tie. As she walked in she instantly was grateful for the sunglasses she slid on shortly after the incident with the doctor. The sun was coming in through the large window in the back of the room, making it a bit overwhelming for her now oversensitive eyes. Once she got used to the brightness she realized a man was sitting at a desk that was against the large window. He quickly stood up walking over to them, his mood hard to decipher from his facial expression. As he got closer Carmen could make out an eye patch and a jagged scar on his one eye. "It seems the rest of team does not care for punctuality. They are on their way no, I can assure you. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Commander Fury." His large hand went grasp her small one quickly. They shared an awkward handshake before a strange look crossed the commander's face and he quickly pulled his hand away. "You've got a great handshake," he said flexing his fingers out, in an attempt to regain feeling in them. As soon as the words left his mouth, Carmen realized her mistake and began apologizing profusely, much to Darcy's amusement. The laughter was soon spilling from her full lips, and all of her attempts to stop it proved futile.

"I trust Coulson has given you the basic rundown of the project. Do you have any questions about it?" Fury asked after he made the women sit down in the chair across from his desk. "Sir, not to sound ungrateful, but why me? I mean from what I've heard you've got some heavy hitters. I just don't understand what I could bring to the table." Fury let a smirk make its way to his face, before replying, "Believe me when I say this, our guys may hit hard, but I'm sure you'll hit harder. We have reason to believe you are not at your full potential, power wise. Your test results were astounding for some as malnourished as you." A knock sounded at the door and Fury told Lewis to deal with it. "Carmen, we believe, the 'facility' you were at had access to a drug that can suppress your mutation. You might remember being better at things when you were younger, probably blew off getting weaker because of the testing. It wasn't the testing dear, it was what they slipped in your food, water, anything." Before she could process that, the door burst open, Coulson appearing a little more frazzled than earlier.

"Sir, the team is ready when you are." Fury nodded in reply, motioning for him to wait with his hand. "Your IQ test was off the charts as well, which is particularly odd considering you lack any education. We have quite the library at headquarters, and I'll see to it they get whatever you request. On top of that we have set up a diet to help you put on some pounds quickly. It's not for the weakest stomachs though I'll warn you." She nodded in understanding, trying to ignore the growl her stomach gave at the mention of food. Fury looked to Coulson before nodding his head.

"Bring them in."


	4. Chapter 4

Coulson entered first, his expression as stony as ever, though Carmen could sense his irritation. A group followed him in, curiosity present in the minds. Carmen stared at them, eyes hidden behind the cheap sunglasses. "Gentlemen, glad you finally decided to join us. Please welcome our latest recruit, Carmen Ortega. She is fully capable and probably willing to kill you if need be, so keep that in mind." Fury eyes stayed glued to a short man who seemed to have a smirk permanently attached, surrounded by his overly sculpted facial hair. He merely raised his eyebrow in response.

"Tony Stark," he grabbed my hand, placing a quick kiss on top of her knuckles before releasing it "pleasure to meet you beautiful." She gave an awkward nod in response. "Steve Rogers" A tall, well-built man extended his large hand next, which she took, trying to ignore how small she felt in his presence. Before she could even turn to the next person, she was pulled up from the ground, her feet dangling and her torso squeezed so hard, she feared for her ribs. "I AM MOST PLEASED AT THE PROSPECT OF A NEW FRIEND AND COMRADE!" The man who held her captive said, squeezing even harder, and before she could stop herself, he was flung across the room, through the wall, and landed on the floor the hallway. Carmen ran after him, her face heating up and heart pounding as she jumped through the hole in the wall. " I am so sorry, it's a reflex." To her surprise, his shocked expression turn into that of amusement and soon his hearty laughter was bouncing off the walls. "Such a tiny creature, even by mortal standards, was able to down me, the god of Thunder. I look for to sparring with you, my lady." Her eyes narrowed at his word choice for describing her, but she turned back towards the others anyway. "I like her" Stark concluded.

Fury stepped through the hole in the wall as well, muttering under his breath as he did so, and handed a file to Carmen. "This has more detailed information on our plans for you, specifically. I hope you will read over our suggested diet outline, as a few extra pounds are probably needed before you can go on missions. You'll meet the rest of the team later today, they are receiving medical treatment as we speak" he explained to her. She took the file with a polite smile, and glanced back up at him. "Now, you will be transported, with the rest of the team to your new base. Lewis, you are to return to your supervisor position for the time being. It is your responsibility to get Carmen ready for whatever may come." Fury turned to Carmen again "Good luck Ortega, don't make me regret this decision…or you will be the regretful one." Carmen kept her stare stony, trying to not to let her fear show as she nodded in agreement.

"Well, let's get you settled in princess. Something tells me you'll just fit right in." Stark said, wrapping an arm around the petite girls shoulders, starting to guide her towards the exit. Once they got out, a limo was waiting for them. "Oh and I think you won't mind the base either."

Carmen was having a hard time trying to keep her shock at bay. They had pulled up to the most decked out building Carmen had ever laid her eyes on. Her gaze slowly grazed the length of it before settling on the large 'STARK' spelled out in lights. "Very subtle Tony" she said with a roll of her eyes for good measure. A chuckle came from Rogers, which he tried to stifle. Tony's smirk on grew bigger "When you are as good as I am, subtlety is not needed." They all made their way out of the limo, with Carmen being the last to get out. She thanked the driver as she stepped out, noticing the group had already made their way to the glass doors, and Tony was already marching inside. She jogged to catch up, and then finally noticed Steve was waiting for her, the door held open. "Thanks, that's very sweet of you." Her words made a blush creep its way to his face.

After a quick elevator ride and a brief explanation of what Tony called 'JARVIS' they arrived to the level of their rooms. Tony led her down the hallway to a room at the end of the hallway, telling her it was now hers. He then headed off saying something about prototypes. She opened the door, and revealed a rather plain room, with a open closet stocked with clothes and soft looking bed. She crossed over to the closet, her eyes flitting over the clothes, which appeared to be a mix of everyday things and plenty of workout clothes. She grabbed on jacket that hung towards the back, a leather one, and checked the tag for a size, not sure what to think when she saw the 'XS' written on the edge of it. 'They just bought an entire set of clothes without me even knowing my own size' she thought to herself.

A soft knock at her door pulled her from her thoughts, and she turned to see Darcy standing in the door way. "I hope those all fit. I mean they'll be a little big for a while , but with the diet you are on, you'll fit in them before you know it. I sort of guessed what you'd like and told the other agent in charge of it to buy" She paused, then continued as she saw Carmen holding the jacket as though it would bite her "Sorry if you don't, you can always get more later." Carmen shook her head, turning to put the jacket away "These are fine, perfect even. Don't mistake me for being upset with it, I…just never really learned a proper way to react to such kindness." Darcy blinked for a couple of minutes before saying "A simple thanks works." Carmen stared at her for a minute before they both began laughing.

Once they settled down, Carmen's face returned to its stony standard. "Did I make a mistake doing this? I mean, I know you work for them, but should I have run?" The other female came all the way in the room now, closing the door as she did, and sat on the edge of the bed. "Look as sketchy as S.H.I.E.L.D can be, I don't see how it could go badly for you. You are going to be a super hero! You actually had a choice, unlike I did, and I think it is the right one. You get to help save the world. What could be more right than that?" Carmen nodded at this not wanting to speak further, and was almost over joyed when a knock sounded at her door. "It's open!" The door pulled open soon after the words left her mouth, revealing an uncomfortable looking Steve.

"Sorry to interrupt ladies," Steve said sheepishly "but the rest of the team is here, and they'd like to meet the new member." They both nodded, and Carmen stood up waiting for Darcy to come with her. "You go on kid. I've got a couple things I have to do, just wanted to stop to check on you before I left." Carmen just then noticed the keys in her hand. Darcy shoved her a little more towards Steve. "You have more super heroes to dazzle." Carmen rolled her eyes but began to follow Steve as he began his walk down the hall anyways.

"I'm not sure I'll ever be able to find my way around this place." He turned his head, only to see her glancing around the building, probably trying to memorize the layout. "If I can do it, you will have no problem," he said, a broad smile thrown in her direction. She returned the smile, "Let's hope that's true." Chatter began to float their way, and it did not sound to be all that happy. Steve sped up, with Carmen on his tail, heading towards the raised voices. They turned a corner to see two men yelling at each other, or rather one yelling and the one scowling. "If you just fucking stayed here," the one with sandy blonde hair was getting dangerously close to the other person, "none of that shit would have happened." Steve stepped forward, placing himself in between the two men. Before he could do anything, a fist caught him in the mouth, dazing him slightly. He gripped his jaw before going to pin the man down, only to see the job was already done for him. Carmen had him pinned against the wall, one arm pinning his behind him, the other across his neck. "You done," she growled out, "or are you going to continue acting like a child?"

For a while only heavy breathing filled the room, but soon laughter cut through it like a sword. They turned to see Tony in hysterics, bent at the waist, clutching his stomach. "Allow me to correct myself," he began " I love her."

* * *

><p><strong>I am genuinely shocked anyone would like this story at all, and just floored at the great response I've gotten. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm working on writing longer ones, but I was so excited, I had to keep this short so I could get it one here as soon as is my first crack at writing really, and I'm very open to criticism. Thank you guys again. <strong>


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